One of the things that will likely make or break the Android-based Ouya is whether or not retailers drive a huge demand for the open-source gaming console. One important CEO claims to be excited about it, though.

In a talk with Joystiq, GameStop executive J. Paul Raines said that his company would “right in the middle” of any new console release, although he didn’t make any solid announcement on the spot:

“We will be a part of any console launch in the future,” GameStop CEO J. Paul Raines told Joystiq this morning, when asked about GameStop’s interest in stocking the Ouya console.

Though he was clear to note that the company did not have an official announcement regarding any potential plans to carry the Android console, Raines was positive about the device. “We think Ouya’s cool. We love the idea of open-source components. Everything we’ve read is great.”

Raines apparently related the launch of the Ouya to the launch of the Google Nexus 7 Android tablet, which GameStop stores put up for pre-orders to a rousing success.

However, the Ouya represents an entirely different niche for potential buyers, and the biggest question is whether people will purchase that console instead of a PS3 or an Xbox. If the Ouya was any threat to those systems, you can bet that it won’t be in many GameStop locations, if any at all.

Then again, it’s most likely that the Ouya will be a niche console that sells to a small group of tech-savvy people who know how to root the system and modify it with custom hardware. That’s a sizeable population, and with the potential of an easy-to-hack system that can house emulators based on various devices, there will be some initial demand.

We’ll have to see how everything shakes out, especially since the Ouya is still a good ways away from release. By the time it hits shelves, we’ll be talking about the next generation of consoles (and the Wii U) a lot more.

McKinley Noble has been writing about video games for seven years as a blogger and journalist, with each job adding to his painstakingly alphabetized collection of retro gaming memorabilia. When not cracking jokes about the gaming industry, he's a talking encyclopedia when it comes to mixed martial arts and anything MMA related. Follow him on Twitter: @KenTheGreat1. Meet the rest of the crew.